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False Evidence Appearing Real

Why is it so difficult to find the courage to start a blog? To open up and become VULNERABLE to the world – literally? Because it’s scary. But what is fear? Is it mind reading – assuming others will think one thing or another and that it is more than likely negative. Is is all or nothing thinking, assuming that I won’t be good at it and will therefore me absolutely terrible! I was once told that fear is False Evidence Appearing Real. Let’s think about this. There are 2 innate fears (some will argue this) – fear of falling and fear of loud noises. All other fears manifest out of our experiences and environment.

As a child, I developed a fear of spiders after watching the movie Arachnophobia and having my older brother place all of this rubber spiders all over my dolls when I was out of my room. I have since outgrown this fear….however now that I have moved to Texas and might encounter a scorpion…a little different than the daddy-long-legs back in Wisconsin.

1 Corinthians 16:13Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong.

Tonight I am thinking about what it is I fear. Fear of failure. Fear of never being good enough – for myself. Fear of heights. Fear of losing my mobility and ability to maintain my current level of fitness and physical activity because of my chronic and worsening ailments. I am sure there are more….that stem from insecurities that come and go. But what I ask myself is do I live in fear? No. I don’t let my physical challenges confine me to the couch – I tackle them and more often than not I succeed. I try to avoid heights without guard rails or safety precautions, but I call that smart. And that overbearing fear of failure….I am constantly reaching, stretching, learning, taking risks…attempting to grow and encouraging others to grow. I believe that my fear of failure has diminished to a healthy level. It is enough to keep me motivated, driven, and ambitious. But it is not so overwhelming that it leaves me depressed, lethargic, and unmotivated.

So I ask. What do you fear? Is it rational? Is it legitimate? Is it healthy? Is it even worthy of being real? If not, it may be time to conquer that fear, little by little, step by step, have the courage to reclaim the power the fear has claimed in your life. The first step, ask yourself the following questions:

1) What’s the likelihood that this thing that I’m afraid of is actually happening?